DENVER | There's a "tea party" candidate running for governor in Colorado this fall, but with three weeks to go in the campaign, it's not entirely clear who it is.
Over the summer, the overwhelming choice of the conservative grass-roots movement was Republican nominee Dan Maes, who won an upset victory in the Aug. 8 GOP primary. Since then, however, the tea partiers - who are a growing political force in this state - have grown increasingly sweet on third-party candidate Tom Tancredo, a former Republican congressman and failed presidential candidate best known for his outspoken views on illegal immigration.
The Tancredo campaign released a list last week of more than 30 tea party, "9-12" and other grass-roots conservative activists who have endorsed the candidate. The reason? His recent surge in the polls - he now leads Mr. Maes by double digits - has convinced them that he's the conservative candidate with the best chance of beating Democratic front-runner John Hickenlooper.
"Based on polling trends and the direction the governor's race has taken over the past several weeks, we firmly believe that candidate Tom Tancredo represents Colorado's best choice in this race," said Bob Marshall, secretary of Hear Us Now, which organized this year's Denver Tax Day tea parties.
Lu Ann Busse, chairwoman of the 9-12 Project Colorado Coalition, said the momentum within the movement favors the Tancredo candidacy. She pointed to a mid-September internal poll showing that Colorado grass-roots conservatives were about evenly split between Mr. Maes and Mr. Tancredo.
"Certainly the trend is that more people are moving toward Tancredo," said Mrs. Busse, who's making it a point to remain neutral in the campaign.
The 9-12 movement is the brainchild of conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck and refers, according to organizers, to the national unity and surge of patriotism the country experienced in the days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The momentum shift comes just in time for the Tancredo campaign, given that early voting in Colorado starts Oct. 18. Mail-in ballots are slated to be sent to voters Tuesday.
"We've gone from one tea-party event to another. We don't miss a one, even though Tom has had to brace himself sometimes, " said Tancredo campaign manager Bay Buchanan. "They were supporting Maes, but now they're moving their support to Tancredo."
Things weren't always so chummy between Mr. Tancredo and the conservative grass roots. When he threatened to run a third-party campaign in July unless Mr. Maes dropped out of the race, tea-party leaders were furious, pointing out that Mr. Tancredo had urged them last year to work within the GOP instead of forming a third party.
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